ACTOR
Dorothy Malone
28 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
In 1965, while working on Peyton Place (1964), Dorothy Malone contracted a near-fatal illness that included a pulmonary embolism, blood clots in both lungs, an enlarged heart and pneumonia. After making a full recovery, she returned to the series after being temporarily replaced by Lola Albright.
- #002
Dorothy Malone faced a bitter lawsuit and a complicated divorce from her husband Jacques Bergerac, whom she accused of marrying famous women only to advance his own career. Bergerac had previously been married to Ginger Rogers.
- #003
Dorothy Malone died on 19 January 2018, but despite winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she was not remembered in the In Memoriam segment of the 90th Academy Awards.
- #004
At the time of her death, Dorothy Malone was the earliest-born surviving Oscar winner in the Best Supporting Actress category, yet she was still left out of the 2018 Oscars "In Memoriam" tribute. To date, she is the only actor or actress to have won an Oscar and been excluded from the annual tribute since it was introduced in 1994.
- #005
After Barbara Bel Geddes left the role in 1984, the producers of Dallas (1978) offered Dorothy Malone the part of Miss Ellie Ewing, but she turned it down.
- #006
Before coming to Hollywood, Dorothy Malone was a former beauty pageant winner.
- #007
Dorothy Malone served as class president for six years and received five college scholarships.
- #008
Dorothy Malone became a blonde for Young at Heart (1954) and remained one for the rest of her career, except for Battle Cry (1955) and Too Much, Too Soon (1958).
- #009
Dorothy Malone gave birth to her first child, Mimi Esther Therese Bergerac, on 3 April 1960, at the age of 35. The child's father was her first husband, Jacques Bergerac.
- #010
Dorothy Malone is best known to the public for her role as Constance MacKenzie in Peyton Place (1964).
- #011
On 8 October 2018, Dorothy Malone was honored with a day of tribute to her film work during TCM's Summer Under the Stars.
- #012
Dorothy Malone played the daughter of Robert Keith's character twice on film: in Young at Heart (1954) and Written on the Wind (1956).
- #013
Dorothy Malone's acting mentors and friends were Ryan O'Neal and Barbara Parkins.
- #014
On 20 February 1962, Dorothy Malone gave birth to her second child, Diane Alice Bergerac, at the age of 37. The child's father was her first husband, Jacques Bergerac.
- #015
Before acting, Dorothy Malone worked as an airline stewardess and an insurance agent.
- #016
Dorothy Malone became the 45th actor to win an Oscar, taking the Best Supporting Actress award for Written on the Wind (1956) at the 29th Annual Academy Awards on 27 March 1957.
- #017
Dorothy Malone's first meeting with Jacques Bergerac took place at a Sophie Tucker fashion show in March 1958. They became engaged in May 1959, married in June 1959 and separated in March 1963. Their divorce was finalized in December 1964.
- #018
During her time in Hollywood, Dorothy Malone was an active member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.
- #019
Dorothy Malone studied drama at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
- #020
Although she played the eldest sister of Doris Day and Elisabeth Fraser in Young at Heart (1954), Malone was in fact the youngest of the three actresses.
- #021
Through her daughter Diane, Dorothy Malone was the grandmother of Mary (b. 4/23/90), John (b. 4/23/90), Lauren (b. 6/20/92) and William Thompson (b. 8/30/95). All of them were born in Dallas, Texas.
- #022
Although many other sources list 30.1.25 as her date of birth, old census and birth records indicate that Dorothy Malone was born on 29.1.24.
- #023
Dorothy Malone was the daughter of Robert Ignatius Maloney (1895-1985), born in Kansas, and Esther Emma Smith (1902-83), born in Maryland.
- #024
Dorothy Malone was the mother-in-law of William Vanderstraaten (Mimi's husband since 1989) and John Thompson (Diane's husband since 1986).
- #025
Through her daughter Mimi, Dorothy Malone was the grandmother of Emily (b. 12/16/91) and Willem Vanderstraaten (b. 5/16/94). Both were born in Dallas, Texas.
- #026
Dorothy Malone was buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Dallas, Texas.
- #027
Dorothy Malone and Tim O'Connor, her co-star in Peyton Place (1964), died three months apart in 2018.
- #028
Unlike other leading Hollywood actresses, Dorothy Malone did not have an "official Italian voice"; she was frequently dubbed by Renata Marini, Rosetta Calavetta and Dhia Cristiani. Lydia Simoneschi, Micaela Giustiniani and Clelia Bernacchi also lent her their voices at some point.
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